1976 Rose Bowl star and All-American Defensive Tackle at UCLA, Frazier
played one year in the NFL for the Kansas City Chiefs before becoming
an actor.
Cliff Frazier was born in St. Louis, Missouri on November 23, 1952. He
moved to Ballwin, Missouri for high school, and after becoming a
defensive prep football star, he went on to play nose tackle at Fort
Scott Community College. There, Frazier's outstanding play earned him
accolades as a junior college All-American defensive lineman in 1972
and 1973. As a result, Frazier was recruited by new UCLA coach Dick
Vermeil, and Frazier played defensive nose guard for the Bruins in the
1974-75 college seasons. Frazier was named to the first-team defense
for the All-Pacific 8 and NCAA All-American teams in 1975.
Frazier was a Tri-Captain of UCLA's Rose Bowl team in 1975 college
season. The underdog Bruins team (8-2-1) defeated the previously
unbeaten and top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0) in the Jan. 1, 1976
Rose Bowl, 23-10. Ohio State, coached by the legendary Woody Hayes, had
the best-ranked defense in the NCAA, and the Buckeyes also had the
Heisman Trophy winner in running back Archie Griffin. But Frazier and
defensive teammates Manu Tuiasosopo and Dale Curry kept Griffin,
fullback Pete Johnson and the rest of the Ohio State offense in check.
Frazier led all defensive players with 13 solo tackles and one assist;
no other Rose Bowl player participated in more than 9 tackles in the
game.
Frazier's teammates at UCLA also included future NFL players Randy
Cross, and running backs Wendell Tyler and Theotis Brown. Frazier was a
second-round round pick of Kansas City Chiefs in the 1976 NFL Draft,
the 41st player picked over all. Frazier did not appear in the 1976 NFL
season, but played all 14 games for the Chiefs in 1977. After Dick
Vermeil became the Philadelphia Eagles head coach, Vermeil arranged for
a trade to acquire Frazier from Kansas City for the Eagles 5th round
draft pick in the 1978 NFL draft. However, Frazier did not make the
Eagles' roster, and went back to southern California to start an acting
career. Soon thereafter Frazier made his screen debut as "Monroe," one
of the linemen in the football classic, "North Dallas Forty."
Frazier was inducted into Fort Scott Community College's "Athletic Hall
of Fame" in 1990.
On June 9, 2006 Frazier participated in UCLA's "Flashback Camp" in
which over 100 former UCLA players and coaches, many of whom were
associated with the 1976 Rose Bowl team, coached UCLA Bruin fans on the
finer points of football.
